Moccasin and method of making the same



Rab. 18, 1941.

J. A. CQRDEAU MOCCASIN AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Aug. 20, 1940 3nventor' 4 Jo'seph .4 Uordeau Patented Feb. 18, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Joseph A. Cordeau, Portland, Maine, assignor to Saco-Moc Shoe Corporation, Portland, Maine, a corporation of Maine Application August 20, 1940, Serial N... 353,361

9 Claims.

My present invention relates to improvements in footwear of the moccasin type and to their manufacture.

In footwear, the heel fitting curvatures of the upper in the heel area may be defined with reference to a medial zone as presenting upwardly and inwardly and downwardly and inwardly curved portions or zones. The upwardly curved portion or zone establishes the proper fit of footwear and therefore is of great importance. If crumpled by the vertical pressure of the heel when the foot is inserted into the footwear, the footwear no longer fits properly and no longer clings to the heel of the wearers foot.

This problem is, of course, present in most types of footwear. In shoes, the heel area is customarily reenforced by counters which protect all except the upper edge of this area so that if the lacings are loosened and if care is employed in putting them on, the uppers in this zone will not be crumpled and their fit accordingly destroyed.

The problem of preserving the fit of moccasins is more difficult because such lacings as are employed serve only to draw the upper against the sides of the foot and customarily are not loosened before the foot is inserted. Moccasins have been popularly accepted as the most appropriate footwear to meet the requirements of outdoor service and are subjected to severe use. customarily, the feet are forced into them without care with the result that their originally proper fit is soon destroyed by reason of the constant deformation of the uppers in the heel zone.

In accordance with my invention, I reenforce the upper inwardly curved portion or zone and leave the lower zone without reenforcement. I thus establish a zone relatively weak so that any collapse under vertical pressures occurs in the 40 lower or unreenforced zone. My invention, therefore, facilitates the easy insertion of the foot into the moccasin without injury to its fit as the shape of the upper in the lower zone is immediately restored by the heel of the wearers foot.

In practice, I accomplish this novel result by a thin strip of metal preformed to be U-shaped and disposed edgewise between the collar and the upper. Preferably, the U-shaped reenforcement is of sufficient length so that its resiliency is effective to draw the upperlightly against the sides of the wearers foot.

While my invention is adapted for use in other types of footwear, it is of particular advantage in moccasins since it may be easily incorporated at low cost without altering their appearance or general construction. I have accordingly selected for illustration my invention as embodied in a typical moccasin of the so-called true type. In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a partly broken away side view of a moccasin in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 shows a typical U-shaped reenforcement.

Fig. 3 is a partly broken away end view of the moccasin shown in Fig. 1. 1

Fig. 4 is a view showing the addition of the reenforcement to an unlasted moccasin upper.

Fig. 5 is a partly sectioned fragmentary view showing the critical zones in the heel area, and

Figs. 6, -7, and 8 illustrate the protection of the essential heel fitting curvature during the insertion of the foot into a moccasin incorporating my invention.

The moccasin shown in the drawing is of the type commonly known as the true moccasin and includes an upper I and a sole 2 having a heel 3( The upper of such a moccasin is customarily formed, with the exception of the toe piece, from a single piece of leather cut to establish in the stitched upper a vertical heel seam 4 in communication with the transverse heel seam 5.

With this type of moccasin, a back stay 6 is stitched to the upper l on each side of the heel seam 5 to protect it and to reenforce the upper. The collar 1 provided with eyelets 8 for the lacing 9 is stitched to the upper I adjacent its top inner edge and to the outside as at I0.

In considering my invention, it will prove helpful to consider and designate the established heel fitting curvatures of the completed moccasin shown in Fig. 1. I have indicated in Fig. 5 the heel zone A and at B a medial zone with reference to which the upper may be defined as establishing an upwardly and inwardly curved portion or zone C and a downwardly and inwardly curved portion or zone D. While these curvatures exist to some extent throughout the heel zone A, they are best defined and most critical at the rear of the zone A.

To preserve the fit of the moccasin I employ a U-shaped reenforcement' H formed from a strip of relatively thin metal stock. The reenforcement II is shaped so that its closed end fits a predetermined sized last and its ends converge (see Fig. 2) and are of sufficient length to extend forwardly todraw the sides of the upper l of a completed moccasin lightly against the foot of the wearer.

In practice, the reenforcement H is slipped over the upper as shown in Fig. 4 and the upper is then completed by stitching the collar 1 to the outside of the upper l. The upper l is then lasted to draw the upper l and the collar 1 into a position wherein the reenforcement H is capable of reenforcing the curvatures in the zone C against deformation under substantial vertical pressures.

I have indicated in Figs. 6-8 a moccasin in accordance with my invention. In Fig. 6 I have indicated a foot 12 being inserted in the moccasin and it will be noted that the heel unavoidably contacts the rear part of the upper in the heel zone A. In Fig. 6, I have shown the collapse of the upper in the zone D under the weight of the heel while the upper in the zone C is unaffected and it will be apparent that when the upper is thus collapsed the foot l2 may easily enter the moccasin. In Fig. 6 I have shown the foot I2 completely within the moccasin and the curvature of the upper in the zone D reestablished by the heel of the wearers foot.

I have denoted the zone B for convenience in defining the zones C and D and illustrating that the tendency to collapse is primarily in the zone D. While the zone B may be affected, the curvature in the zone C is preserved and the shape of the affected portions is re-established by the shape of the heel of the wearers foot.

What I therefore claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. Footwear comprising a sole and an upper, said upper having its heel zone characterized by heel fitting curvatures defined with reference to a middle portion as presenting an inwardly curved upper portion and an inwardly curved lower portion, and a member of thin flat resilient metal stock, said member being carried by said upper and disposed edgewise around said heel 40 zone to reenforce said inwardly curved upper portion against deformation under vertically applied pressures, while leaving said lower inwardly curved portion unreenforced and thereby'deformable under said pressures, the curvature of said lower portion being restored by the heel of the wearers foot.

2. A moccasin comprising a sole and an upper, said upper having its heel zone characterized by heel fitting curvature defined with reference to a 59 middle portion as presenting an inwardly curved upper portion and an inwardly curved lower portion, a collar attached to the inner edge of said upper and to the outer surface of said upper adjacent said middle portion, and a U-shaped mem- 55 her of thin flat stock disposed edgewise around said heel zone intermediate said collar and said upper to reenforce said inwardly curved upper portion against deformation under vertically applied pressures, while leaving said lower inwardly 60 curved portion unreenforced and thereby deformable under said pressures, the curvature of said lower portion being restored by the heel of the wearers foot.

3. The footwear of claim 2 in which the U- shaped member is tightly held against the upper by the collar at the rear of the heel zone and the ends of said member converge and extend forwardly of the heel zone and are relatively free between the collar and the upper.

4. A moccasin comprising a sole and an upper, said upper having its heel zone characterized by heel fitting curvature defined with reference to a middle zone as presenting an inwardly curved upper portion and an inwardly curved lower portion, said upper having a seam transversely of the rear part of said lower portion, and a reenforced back seam from said transverse seam to the top edge of said upper, a collar attached to the inner edge of said upper and to the wall of said upper adjacent said middle zone and a U-shaped member of thin fiat resilient stock disposed edgewise around said heel zone intermediate said collar and said upper to reenforce said inwardly curved upper portion against deformation under vertical pressures while leaving said lower inwardly curved portion deformable substantially along said transverse seam, the curvature of said lower portion being restored by the heel of the wearers foot.

5. The moccasin of claim 4 in which the closed end of the U-shaped member is tightly held against the upper by the collar and the free ends are relatively free between the collar and the upper and converge to urge the upper lightly against the foot of the wearer.

6. The moccasin of claim 4 in which the closed end of the U-shaped member is shaped to fit the last on which said moccasin is lasted.

7. The moccasin of claim 4 in which the closed end of the U-shaped member is shaped to fit the last on which said moccasin is lasted and the ends converge.

8. In the manufacture of moccasins having collars, those steps that consist in forming from a strip of thin resilient stock a substantially U- shaped reenforcement with its closed end shaped to fit a predetermined last, in inserting the reenforcement between the collar and the upper of a moccasin and in pulling-over said moccasin on said predetermined last.

9. In the manufacture of moccasins having collars, those steps that consist in forming from a strip of thin resilient stock a substantially U- shaped reenforcement with its closed end shaped to fit a predetermined last, in disposing said reenforcement around the rear of an upper adjajacent its top edge prior to the stitching of the collar to the outside of the upper, in stitching said collar to said upper and in pulling-over said upper on said predetermined last.

JOSEPH A. CORDEAU. 

